Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Optional Preparation – Ground Rules For Classroom Discussion
10 minutes – Part A: Understanding The United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child
25 minutes – Part B: The UNCRC In Australia
35 minutes – Part C: Darren’s Experience
10 minutes – Reflection

Part A: Understanding The United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child

Step 1.

Begin the lesson by writing the following statement on whiteboard, and read it aloud to the class:

Step 2.

Distribute three sticky notes to each student, and invite them to use them to write down three questions that they have about the statement. If students require prompting, you could suggest that they identify specific terms in the statement that they are unfamiliar with and ask questions about them. Students could also be prompted to ask questions using the ‘5 W’s & 1H’

Step 3.

Ask students to stick their questions to the whiteboard. They could also read them out to the class as they are doing so.

Before students share their questions with the class, ensure that you have reminded students that it’s ok if they know nothing about the statement on the board - this lesson is an opportunity to empathise with and support each other, to ask questions and to find more information.

Step 4.

Once all questions are on the whiteboard, work with the class to group them into themes, then create one overarching inquiry question for each theme.

Themes and the related questions that may emerge include:

The UN - What is the UN? What is the purpose of the UN?
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - What is the CRC? Why is there a CRC?
Signatory - What does signatory mean? What does it mean if a government is a signatory to a convention?
Australian government - What does the Australian government have to do with it? What does the Australian government have to do if they are a signatory? What are the Australian government’s responsibilities?

Step 5.

Invite students to sit together in evenly-numbered groups, and assign one question to each group to investigate. Groups should have access to at least one web-enabled device upon which to conduct their research.

They could view the links below to find out more about their question:

A clip that summarises the UN CRC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COjVj9czgrY
Australian Human Rights Commission Factsheet explaining the concept of ‘signatory’: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/education/hrexplained/download/FS7_Australia.pdf
Information about the UNCRC from UNICEF: https://www.unicef.org/crc/
A simplified (child-friendly) version of the UNCRC: https://www.unicef.org.au/Upload/UNICEF/Media/Our%20work/childfriendlycrc.pdf

Allow enough time for groups to find and summarise information about their assigned question.

Step 6.

Encourage groups to share what they have found with the class, then facilitate a class discussion to simplify and summarise the original statement:

Once the class has arrived at a joint understanding of the meaning of the statement, ask them to write it down in the space provided on the Student Worksheet.

Step 7.

Summarise this part of the lesson by informing the class that by signing the UNCRC the Australian government has committed to ensuring that children in Australia are afforded each of the rights described in the UNCRC.

Part B: The UNCRC In Australia

Step 1.

Distribute a copy of UNICEF’s Simplified Version Of The UNCRC to each student. Inform students that the language of the actual convention is much more detailed, however, this version still captures the essence of each of the CRC’s articles.

Step 2.

Invite students to spend some time reading through each of the articles, underlining or highlighting words and phrases that they require clarification around. Encourage students to work with 2-3 others to discuss and clarify the parts of the UNCRC they aren’t sure about. Then facilitate a quick class sharing session where each group shares something they clarified as a group. Inform students that by sharing their discussion, they may be helping others in their class to gain a better understanding of the UNCRC.

Step 3.

Invite students to work on their own to select two or more of the UNCRC articles, and provide an example of that article in action in Australian society. For example:

UNCRC Article 17: Children have the right to reliable information from the media. Mass media such as television, radio and newspapers should provide information that children can understand and should not promote materials that could harm children.
Example in Australian society: In Australia, children have access to the news program, Behind The News, which covers current affairs and news in language that kids can easily understand.

Direct students to the space provided on the Student Worksheet to respond to their chosen UNCRC articles.

Step 4.

Invite volunteers to share their ideas with the class, and provide extra examples for students to note down if required.

Part C: Darren’s Experience

Step 1.

Illustrate the experiences of a child experiencing homelessness by screening this short clip from The Oasis: Ten Years Later. Invite students to sit in a place where they can see the screen and introduce the clip by explaining that it features the story of Darren, who was being supported by The Oasis Youth Support Network when The Oasis documentary was filmed 10 years ago. Before you begin watching, remind students that the clip they are about to see features real people courageously sharing their stories.

Darren's Story (https://vimeo.com/346336219/2ace7f2662)

Step 2.

Once the clip has finished, invite students to re-read through the simplified version of the UNCRC, and circle each of the articles that they think Darren was NOT afforded when he was a child.

Step 3.

Ask students to use the space provided on the Student Worksheet to describe three things that - according to the UNCRC - Darren should have had access to, or experienced when he was a child (but didn’t).

Encourage students to frame their response in relation to the UNCRC, rather than personal views about Darren's experience as a child - this will help to avoid value judgements and/or arguments between class members.

Step 4

Invite students to share their responses with a partner. If you have time, ask volunteers to share their ideas with the class.

Reflection

Invite students to summarise their learning throughout this lesson by responding in writing to the reflection question below. There is space provided on the Student Worksheet for them to do so.

In Australia, 43,500 people experiencing homelessness are under 25. Considering what you now know about the UNCRC, and the fact that the Australian government is a signatory to it, what is your view about this statistic? Explain your answer.

Students could also complete the question as an exit-slip task, or as a submitted assessment.

Differentiated Learning

Extension – Distribute this article link (or a printed version of the article) for students to read. Ask students to identify specific solutions to homelessness as they are identified in the news article, then to list the articles from the UNCRC that relate to each solution.

Provisions for Learning Support – Consider showing an introductory video clip, such as The UNCRC - The United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child to the class to ensure all students have a foundational understanding of the UNCRC before starting group research. When selecting groups, ensure that students are grouped with peers of diverse abilities.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Life After The Oasis - Youth Homelessness and the Rights of the Child

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